


Heaven's Hill

by LadeeCam0



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-26
Updated: 2019-06-26
Packaged: 2020-05-19 23:12:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 720
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19365664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadeeCam0/pseuds/LadeeCam0
Summary: A refugee from Asgard tends a shrine to a fallen hero.





	Heaven's Hill

It was the autumn equinox, and that day always felt so special to me. True, I liked the vernal equinox as well, but the autumn was simply the finest time. With the darkening of the year, though, my thoughts always turned inward. So shortly before sunrise, I went up to the shrine to Heimdall on Heaven’s Hill.

Though I was barely more than a child when Hela defiled Asgard, I still remember it clearly. But even more clearly, I remember Heimdall leading us to sanctuary. It seemed he would have no sooner brought a group into hiding then he would leave and return with another. It wasn’t as if he was in multiple places at once, but it seemed very nearly that.

Then, when we thought we’d achieved some measure of safety, the deviant Thanos and his sycophants attacked us. So few were left. He and his perverse minions said they were giving us mercy. What ultimately befell them was far more merciful than they gave the universe, and even more merciful than they deserved.

“Martine, banish those thoughts,” I said aloud to myself, preparing for prayer. “Now is not the time to dwell on evil,” I intoned. “Now is never the time to dwell on evil. Now is ever the time to cherish life, and to treasure the memory of Him who is, was, and ever shall be Asgard’s Savior: the great and mighty Heimdall!”

“I see you’ve got a Rainbow Bridge here,” a voice pulled me from my devotions.

“My lord!”

“You don’t need to call me that,” my visitor replied. “Valkyrie rules New Asgard now. I’m just Thor.”

“You will never be ‘just’ Thor,” I said. “You helped defeat Thanos once and for all.”

“I was but one of many who strove against him and his army,” my lord said.

“And all of them—all of _you_ —shall be welcome in New Asgard in general and here on Heaven’s Hill in particular forever more.” I could not forget all who fought for the Universe, even if it was Heimdall had made the greatest impression on me.

“The ram’s heads on the bridge posts are beautiful,” Thor said after we’d both been silent for a time.

“Thank you my—Thank you, Thor.” It felt so strange to refer to the former king by his first name only. “I wanted this place to be as beautiful as possible for my lord Heimdall.”

“Him, I willingly call ‘my lord’,” Thor declared. “Heimdall was one of the greatest of the Asgardians. You built this shrine?”

“I did. Well, most of it. Come into the little hall here,” I offered. “There is something I want to show you.” In reverent silence, Thor crossed my little Rainbow Bridge and came into the hut I had called a hall. “Behold.”

Thor gasped.

“It’s beautiful,” he breathed. “It looks just like him, Martine. You did a splendid job.”

“Not I, Thor Odinson, but your brother.”

“What?”

“Your brother Loki was here at midsummer,” I said, turning my gaze to the exquisite, life-size statue of Heimdall. “When he saw what I’d made here, he made for me this. That anyone could coax such art from driftwood is a marvel to me.”

“Midsummer, you say?”

“Yes, my lord. Loki bade me not to alert you until you came here yourself. Forgive me for keeping silent as he requested. I feared you would be cross.”

“Oh, I am cross alright,” Thor admitted. “But not with you. No, not with you. Loki is a hero in the history of Asgard as well. A bit of an ass, but a hero nonetheless. The same could be said of me. Martine, would you give me a moment? I wish to pay my respects to Heimdall.”

“Of course.”

I left him and sat in the garden of Heaven’s Hill. It was strange, thinking that Thor would need to take so much time paying his respects. He emerged just after sunset.

“Martine of Asgard,” Thor said to me, “the work, the ministry you do here is beyond measure. Tend this shrine as long as you can bear the burden. And remember: there are others who would doubtless share the work if it becomes too much.” He paused and smiled. “But for now, be happy and know that Heimdall smiles upon you from Valhalla.” 


End file.
